A Statesman’s Personal Tragedy in Ming Dynasty China

On September 25, 1577, an autumnal breeze carried devastating news to Ming Dynasty Chief Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng. As he casually opened a thin letter from his hometown, his right eyelid twitched—an ominous sign in Chinese superstition. Halfway through reading, his face paled: his father Zhang Wenming had died twelve days earlier. The letter from his grieving mother ended with a heart-wrenching plea: “The household mourns in desolation—return home swiftly.”

This moment would trigger one of the most controversial political dramas of the Ming era, forcing China’s most powerful official to choose between Confucian filial obligations and his duty to the empire. The resulting “mourning crisis” would expose the tensions between personal morality and state necessity in imperial China’s bureaucratic system.

The Weight of Confucian Tradition

In Ming China, “dingyou” (丁忧) required officials to resign for 27 months of mourning upon a parent’s death—a sacred Confucian ritual emphasizing filial piety as governance’s moral foundation. Zhang had last seen his father nineteen years earlier when leaving for government service. Though his father had been ill since summer 1577, Empress Dowager Li and the teenage Emperor Wanli (Zhu Yijun) had prevented Zhang’s visit, citing urgent state affairs and the emperor’s impending marriage.

The system created impossible tensions. As historian Ray Huang observed, Ming bureaucracy demanded officials be “sons first, ministers second”—yet the empire relied on their continuous service. Zhang embodied this contradiction: the architect of the Wanli Reforms now faced abandoning his life’s work during its most critical phase.

The Throne Intervenes

When Zhang petitioned to begin mourning, the imperial court panicked. The 15-year-old emperor exclaimed: “Three years without Minister Zhang? My wedding preparations? State affairs? Impossible!” Behind closed doors, powerful eunuch Feng Bao warned Zhang of political suicide: “Before your horse reaches home, your seat will be occupied.” He referenced Vice Grand Secretary Lü Tiaoyang already receiving congratulations as de facto successor—a stark reminder of power’s fleeting nature.

Emperor Wanli issued an unprecedented “seizing of emotions” (夺情) decree, invoking emergency powers to override mourning rites. Historical precedents existed—notably for 1449 Minister of War Yu Qian during a Mongol invasion—but never for a sitting chief minister during peacetime. The emperor’s moving plea argued: “Heaven sent you not as ordinary men…consider our young ruler and fragile state.”

The Firestorm of Controversy

What followed was a masterclass in political theater. Zhang initially resisted with eloquent memorials:

“Your servant still has an aged mother of seventy-two, often ill…She waits counting days, leaning by her gate. If she learns I cannot return, her sorrow may bring sickness—how could my heart know peace?”

Yet as pro-retention petitions flooded in from allies like censor Zeng Shichu, opposition emerged. Board of Personnel Minister Zhang Han—ironically Zhang Juzheng’s own appointee—boldly declared: “Ten thousand generations’ moral principles are being trampled!” His subsequent purge sent shockwaves through officialdom.

Cultural Earthquake

The controversy exposed Ming society’s ideological fault lines:

1. Confucian Purists saw “seizing emotions” as destroying moral governance’s foundation
2. Pragmatists argued exceptional statesmen transcended normal rules
3. Opportunists used the crisis to attack Zhang’s reform faction

Poet-official Wang Shizhen privately lamented: “The court has abandoned ritual to keep one man—what becomes of a country without rites?” Yet provincial officials reported peasants praising Zhang’s tax reforms, indifferent to capital debates.

The Faustian Compromise

After weeks of pressure, Zhang accepted a hybrid solution:
– Continued governance in plain mourning robes
– Non-participation in celebratory court rituals
– Salary donations to state coffers
– “In Mourning” added to official documents

The compromise satisfied nobody completely. As Zhang confided to his diary: “The heart knows its own unrest”—acknowledging his uneasy conscience.

Legacy of the 1577 Crisis

The episode’s repercussions echoed through late Ming history:

1. Political Consequences
– Damaged Zhang’s reputation as a Confucian moralist
– Empowered conservative opposition to his reforms
– Set precedent for later “seizing emotions” controversies

2. Cultural Impact
– Sparked debates about balancing filial piety and state service
– Inspired later literary works like “The Golden Lotus” depicting official hypocrisy

3. Modern Parallels
– Contemporary Chinese discussions of “zhongxiao” (loyalty vs filial piety)
– Comparisons to modern leaders balancing family and public duty

Historian Kenneth Swope notes this marked “the beginning of the end” for Zhang’s dominance. Within five years, the ailing statesman would die—his reforms dismantled soon after by a resentful Emperor Wanli.

The 1577 crisis remains a poignant case study in the eternal tension between individual morality and collective responsibility—a dilemma resonating far beyond Ming dynasty China. As Zhang himself wrote during the turmoil: “To serve parents with years, to serve sovereign with lifetime—can both be perfect?” His unanswered question still challenges leaders today.